Zoo keepers tell 12 days of Christmas

Zoo keepers have looked back over 2014, with a fun take on the 12 Days Of Christmas.

A record-breaking year for the Stanley Park destination saw two rare tiger cubs born as well as a new £1million orangutan house opened.

n On the first day of Christmas my Zoo love gave to me... A brand new orangutan house

Back in July, the new £1million Orangutan Outlook opened, with Vicky and her daughters Cherie and Summer returning home with resident male Ramon after 18 months at Chester Zoo, during the restoration and expansion project. The ape house was tripled in size with better heating and lighting as well as new open plan viewing area for visitors.

n On the second day of Christmas my Zoo love gave to me... Two tiger cubs

The twin male Siberian tiger cubs were born on June 11, to mum and dad Alyona and Zambar. The furry duo became an instant hit with visitors, and were named after Blue Peter presenters, Blackpool’s own Barney Harwood and his colleague Radzi Chinyanganya.

n On the third day of Christmas my Zoo love gave to me... Three tourism awards

n On the fourth day of Christmas my Zoo love gave to me... 400 eggs hatched!

We have had great success with eggs being hatched in our incubator and chicks being hand-reared including flamingos and a very special little penguin called Gandalf. We have also has lorikeets and various species of ducks and chickens.

n On the fifth day of Christmas my Zoo love gave to me... Five new zookeepers

n On the sixth day of Christmas my Zoo love gave to me... 62,000 school children on visits

n On the seventh day of Christmas my Zoo love gave to me... 7,000 talks and feeds

n On the eighth day of Christmas my Zoo love gave to me... 8,000 zoo memberships

n On the ninth day of Christmas my Zoo love gave to me... Nine donkeys braying

There are currently more donkeys than ever before at Blackpool Zoo, making their popular home in the Children’s Farm. They are Amanda, Charlene, Leah, Blossom, Eliza, Gemma, Danny and two little foals.

n On the tenth day of Christmas my Zoo love gave to me... 10 per cent more visitors

n On the eleventh day of Christmas my Zoo love gave to me... 11 lemur babies

Lemurs are one of the zoo’s most popular specials, and among the new-borns there this year, there were two sets of twins.

n On the twelfth day of Christmas my Zoo love gave to me... 12,000 carrots for the animals!

Carrots are a favourite food for most of the animals at the zoo, there aren’t many who don’t eat them - but the ones with a real shot of great vision at night are the gorillas, orangutans and giraffes who generally eat the most.